The Purpose of SCAD Amendments in Durham, North Carolina

The podcast episode discusses the SCAD text amendments being proposed in Durham, North Carolina, which focus on small-scale changes to the current development code to allow for small lot housing, neighborhood retail, mixed-use development, and missing middle housing types. The amendments aim to address the history of zoning and its role in enabling housing discrimination and segregation. They seek to eliminate parking mandates, reintroduce faith-based housing, and establish neighborhood commercial areas. The episode highlights the need for these amendments to enable more incremental development, starter homes, and small-scale builders. It also addresses the pushback faced during the planning and approval process and emphasizes the importance of reforming zoning to create housing that is both affordable and aesthetically pleasing.